Subject: RECIPE: Coriander lamb
From: [email-masked] (Mukesh Patel)
Date: 3 Aug 86 07:20:29 GMT
Newsgroups: mod.recipes

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.RH MOD.RECIPES-SOURCE LAMB-CORIANDER M "22 May 86" 1986
.RZ "DHANA GHOSHT" "A popular North Indian lamb dish with coriander"
This is a family variation on a popular 
North Indian dish. 
I cook it whenever I could get hold of fresh coriander,
which in Edinburgh is seldom.
.PP
I don't know its authentic Indian name.  We simply call it ``dhana
lamb'' as that's how its always cooked at home.  
\fIDhana\fR means ``coriander'' in Gujarati.
.IH "Serves 3\-4"
.IG "1\(12 lb" "stewing lamb," "700 g"
trimmed of fat and diced
.IG "2 cups" "full fat natural yogurt" "500 ml"
.IG "6" "garlic cloves,"
crushed
.IG "4 tsp" "ground coriander" "20 ml"
.IG "2" "lila murcha,"
(fresh green chilli peppers),
crushed
.IG "4 tsp" "paprika" "20 ml"
.IG "3\-4 tsp" "salt" "15\-20 ml"
.IG "4 Tbsp" "cooking oil" "60 ml"
(mustard oil is best)
.IG "2" "medium onions"
(or more to taste)
.IG "3 tsp" "cummin seeds" "15 ml"
.IG "1 tsp" "turmeric powder" "5 ml"
.IG "2 tsp" "black mustard seed" "10 ml"
.IG "3 tsp" "ginger," "20 g"
coarsely crushed
.IG "2 tsp" "red chilli powder" "10 ml"
(also called cayenne pepper or lal mirch) 
.IG "4 oz" "fresh coriander" "100 g"
.PH
.SK 1
Dice the meat into bite-size cubes, and soak in warm water for 2\-3 minutes.
.SK 2
Mix the paprika, ground coriander, salt, crushed garlic, and crushed 
green chillies with yogurt.
Drain the lamb and add to the yogurt marinade.
.SK 3
Leave to marinate for at least six
hours. Ideally it should marinate in the refrigerator for 24 hours.
.SK 4
Dice the onions into thin semi-circles.  
In a large saucepan or a generous frying-pan, 
heat the cooking oil over a high flame.
Add the onions when 
the oil is hot enough to ``steam''. 
Reduce the heat to medium and stir
occasionally.  Fry the onions until they change colour to a deep red/brown.
This should take 10 to 15 minutes.
.SK 5
At this point add the black mustard seeds and stir a few times.  Then 
add the ginger, cummin seeds, red chillies and turmeric powder.  Increase
the heat and fry this ``masala'' for a couple of minutes.
.SK 6
Add the marinated lamb to the masala and mix well.
.SK 7
At this point you have
two options, either to cook the meat on the stove or to bake it.
Stovetop cooking
takes less time but requires fairly constant stirring.  It should
be cooked in a covered saucepan on a low to medium flame for about 45 
minutes.  Add water if the sauce gets too dry and begins to stick.  
For baking, transfer it to an ovenproof casserole, cover it, and bake for
1\(12 hours at 
.TE 200 95 .
Check occasionally, though you are unlikely to need to
add any water to the sauce. 
.SK 8
Finally, prepare and wash the fresh coriander in cold water.
Only the leaves and the tender stems should be retained.
Chop coarsely and mix well just before serving.  If you don't
have any fresh coriander, then mix in 
.AB "2\-3 tsp" "15 ml"
of coriander powder.
Serve with well buttered (boiled) rice or pita bread, and fresh salad.
.NX
Take care not to burn the onions and don't overcook the masala just before
mixing in the marinated meat.  
.PP
I think the dish tastes a lot better if it is
baked.  It's even better if cooked for a longer period at a lower
temperature.
.SH RATING
.I Difficulty:
easy to moderate.
.I Time:
15 minutes preparation, 1 day marinating, 2\(12 hours cooking.
.I Precision:
approximate measurement OK.
.WR
Mukesh J Patel
University of Edinburgh, Centre for Cognitive Science, Edinburgh, Scotland
seismo!ukc!cstvax!epistemi!mukesh
[email-masked]